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Oregon GOP Endorses Two Write-In Candidates

The Oregon Republican Party is asking its base to write-in the names of two candidates for statewide office.

A postcard sent out to registered Republicans endorses Portland lawyer James Buchal for Attorney General, and Thomas Cox for State Treasurer. Cox is a former Libertarian Party candidate for Governor. He also runs a consulting firm based out of Beaverton.

Republicans failed to put forward a candidate this year for either race. So ordinarily the party would pick a candidate after the primary.

But Cox says if the Democrat, in this case incumbent Ted Wheeler, were able to convince just enough friendly Republicans to write his name in on the ballot, the race would be over before it even began.

“That’s why the Republican Party of Oregon decided to do write-ins around specific candidates from the Republican Party”, Cox says.

He says a Democrat winning the Republican nomination wouldn’t be unprecedented. John Kroger pulled it off four years in his race for Attorney General.

Cox and Buchal will need to get a majority of write-in votes to appear on the ballot in November.